A test adaptation of the modified readiness for inter-professional learning scale in Turkish

Background: There is a need for healthcare professionals to develop teamwork and collaboration skills before they graduate. Inter-professional education is a suitable modality for these learning outcomes and it will be effective if it begins early in the undergraduate curriculum. Objectives: “Inter-professional Collaboration for Patient Safety” has been taught as an elective course in Hacettepe University. This new educational modality requires measuring tools to determine the qualifications of the learners and support the learning process. This study aimed to adapt the readiness for inter-professional learning scale (RIPLS) for use in Turkey. Methods: The guideline developed by Sousa and Rojjanasrirat (2011) guided the adaptation processes. The students enrolled in the study from Child Development, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Nutrition and Dietetics, Paramedic, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation programs. Four hundred and eighty-four students completed RIPLS questionnaires. Psychometric properties were analysed by confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The results were consistent with the original scale. When Sousa’s approach was followed: (i) improvements were needed for four items, (ii) the scale items were clear and understandable, (iii) the Turkish RIPLS presents good content validity, and (iv) the Turkish RIPLS has very good internal consistency (0.87, n=484). Conclusions: The Turkish RIPLS can be used as a valid and reliable measurement tool for evaluating the RIPL. Adaptation studies showed that the RIPLS was sensitive to cultural context. Researchers should be cautious on performing cross-cultural comparisons of subscale ‘roles and responsibilities’ because The Turkish RIPLS had the lowest value of reliability for this subscale, like the original and the other adapted scales.